Making Mergers Work: The Strategic Importance of People Book

The partnership between SHRM Foundation and Towers Perrin that produced the M&A survey is proud to introduce you to the newly published book, Making Mergers Work: The Strategic Importance of People. The book combines the results of the survey and Towers Perrin's vast experience in the field of mergers, acquisitions, spin-offs, joint ventures and similar deals. And, like the survey, it focuses on the current and ideal roles of human resource professionals in those corporate transformations.

Making Mergers Work goes beyond the information and opinions gleaned from our sample of HR executives and offers prescriptions for solving the problems cited in the survey.

There are chapters on every aspect of mergers and acquisitions including:
- An overview of M&A trends
- The M&A life cycle model
- The pre-deal stage
- Due diligence
- Integration planning
- HR technology issues
- Implementation issues
- Transforming the HR organization
- M&A in the new millennium

In addition, we offer appendices on change management, communication and measurement, globalization, executive compensation, total rewards, employee benefit plans and sales and marketing (within an M&A context).

In every chapter and appendix, we take an in-depth approach. One of my colleagues described Making Mergers Work as "a textbook for an MBA in M&A." There is, of course, no such degree, but-like those graduate level courses-this book offers a variety of carefully researched case studies. We provide real-world examples, showing what was done right and what wasn't.

We also offer practical advice for HR professionals in every stage of M&A's. And-perhaps even more important-we suggest ways in which those professionals can convince top management of the vital significance of human resource issues in M&A's and the advantages of providing a place at the table for HR executives, right from the start of every deal.